Rangel Returns to Political Stage

Rep. Charles Rangel moved with the help of a walker as he arrived at an event in Harlem Tuesday morning, ending a two-month period in which the longtime congressman hadn’t cast a vote or held a public event.

It was a gathering of small business owners hosted by his office, featuring the head of the federal Small Business Administration. But the event drew an unusual number of political heavyweights, who stood and applauded as the 81-year-old Rangel returned to the political stage. Rangel was confined to a chair at the front of the room but seemed energetic.

He faces a primary challenge from state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, a Dominican-American whose support among that group makes him perhaps the strongest threat the veteran lawmaker has faced in years.

Rangel said Espaillat is a “pretty strong” challenger who has “done a lot of good work for the community.” But he sounded a note of confidence about his re-election odds: ”This is a place that everyone should want to say, ‘I once ran for congress in Harlem.’ ”

“I certainly have to be sympathetic to any person or group of people that believe that their particular culture, language or background should be in the congress, the city council,” Rangel told reporters during the event.

Much of the city’s black political establishment stood behind Rangel at Tuesday’s event, including Assemblyman Keith Wright, chief of the Manhattan Democratic Party, and former Mayor David Dinkins.

On the sidelines of the event, Dinkins said he would campaign for Rangel. “He should do well. I’ll be at his side, certainly,” Dinkins said.